Clemson could charge for some student football tickets

Some students may have to pay for their Clemson football tickets in 2016.

Traditionally, all student tickets at Clemson have been free. However, that could change under a new proposal that would charge students $225 for lower-level tickets. The free tickets have been available on a signup basis and the lower-level tickets would be a season ticket of sorts, guaranteeing students admission to all of Clemson's home games.

“The plan that was presented to us would be detrimental to the spirit of Clemson and the spirit of being a student here, and we’ve been opposed to it for 2½ years,” Wilson told The Post and Courier in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. “A couple years ago, Dan tried to implement an athletics fee here at Clemson, which was something student government opposed, and now it’s been transformed, basically, into paying for the lower deck and not having to pay for the upper deck.

“To me, that’s basically segregating the stadium based on socioeconomic status among students, and that’s not OK.”

While Joey Wilson's feelings are commendable, we have some bad reality-based news for him: segregation based off socioeconomic status is already in full effect at football games and other sporting events. While some people scrape together all they can to afford upper deck tickets to a playoff game, others are enjoying suites and all-you-can-eat amenities in posh settings. There's a reason why new stadiums always tout the number of luxury boxes and premium seats available; they make the most money off of them.

There is probably a fair number of students willing to pay $225 a year for a guaranteed lower-level seat and charging students for tickets isn't an unusual concept in college athletics. Many schools offer an all-sport pass that grants students access to all sporting events for a fee. Radakovich told the Post and Courier that Clemson was the only team in the ACC, Big 12 or SEC that did not charge students an athletic fee to attend football or basketball games.